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Uranium Facts

Important Facts: Everything You've Always Wanted To Know About Uranium - But Were Afraid To Ask!

Fact: Uranium is the fuel used by nuclear reactors to generate 17% of the world' electricity.

Fact: Uranium is an extremely concentrated and efficient fuel, much more so than oil or coal. The following table shows the extent to which this true:

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Energy Source          Electricity Produced
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1 kg of firewood              1 kwh
1 kg of coal                  3 kwh
1 kg of oil                   4 kwh
1 kg of uranium             50,000 kwh
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Fact: The 1997 Kyoto Protocol called for significant reductions in worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. Currently coal, gas and oil account for 63% of the world's energy demands. Since nuclear power is the cleanest form of energy available, it can be expected to play a growing role in helping nations achieve their emission reduction targets.

Fact: Although nuclear energy has many advantages, it has on occasion received negative publicity due to a misinformed press and others with their own political agenda. Some point to the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in the Soviet Union, without knowing what really happened (it was a deliberate "experiment" that was so stupid it might as well have been deliberate sabotage). The book "The Truth about Chernobyl" by nuclear physicist and former Chernobyl chief engineer, Grigori Medvedev, tells a tale of "a breathtaking level of ineptitude, ignorance and criminal negligence". The odds of something like that happening again is nil. And for the other "event", there were no injuries or adverse health impacts ever detected from the incident at Three Mile Island, in spite of a sensationalist press trying to make it a big deal. (Want the truth? Read the book "Crisis Contained, the Dept. of Energy at Three Mile Island" by Phillip Cantelon and Robert Williams.) In any event, tremendous advances have been made in nuclear safety technology in the past 20 years.

Fact: In December 2004, a major breakthrough was announced involving the safer disposal of spent nuclear energy fuel. Researchers at Lehigh University, Sandia National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory have developed a new nickel-based alloy with added gadolinium which shows far greater ability than any other alloy to absorb radioactive neutrons emitted by nuclear waste. Most important is the fact that gadolinium absorbs neutron at a rate more than 60 times greater than the next best material, boron, which is now most commonly used. Equally important is the fact that the new alloy can be fabricated in large quantities using conventional ingot metallurgy and fusion welding techniques. According to John DuPont, Ph.D., Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at LeHigh and the principal investigator on the project, the new alloy means that highly radioactive fuel can now be safely transported to and stored at a permanent facility.

Fact: Last year (2004), well-known British environmentalist James Lovecock (best known for his "Gaiga Theory" and his role in the start of the green movement) had this to say: "I wholly support the green wish to see all energy eventually come from renewable sources, but I do not think that we have the time to wait until this happens. Nuclear is the only energy source that we could apply in time to offset the threat from accumulating greenhouse gases. Its worldwide use as our main source of energy would pose an insignificant threat compared with the dangers of intolerable and lethal heat waves and sea levels rising to drown every coastal city of the world." He said that nuclear power plants are needed to prevent the awful toll that the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and to some extent natural gas) will cause over the next century.

Fact: President Bush, as part of his new energy bill, is calling for the construction of more nuclear power plants, the first sought in the United States since the 1970's. He acknowledged that coal-burning power plants contribute to global warming and said that nuclear plants, which do not directly release greenhouse gases, may be part of the solution. Power plants that comsume fossil fuels account for 40% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, the U.S. gets 20% of its electricity from nuclear power with 103 commercial nuclear reactors operating in 31 states.

Fact: World production of electricity from nuclear power is increasing. There are currently 440 nuclear power reactors located in 31 countries. The World Nuclear Association reports that at least 8 countries with nuclear power programs (China, Finland, France, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia and South Korea) have plans to build new power reactors beyond those already under construction. In total, about 35 more nuclear power plants are currently in the planning stage, with several dozen more being proposed. As one might expect, China is leading the way. In April 2005, China announced that they plan to build 40 new nuclear reactors in the next 15 years. Even Russia has announced plans to double its nuclear capacity by 2015. In addition, a number of nuclear plants have announced expansion plans, which will increase the demand for uranium even further in the years ahead.

Fact: For the past few years, mine production of uranium has accounted for only slightly over half of demand. The balance was made up from stock depletion and dismantling of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU). Further drawdowns from existing inventories and the HEU weapons disarmament program (mostly from Russia) will not be able to meet the forecast supply/demand deficit. In fact, Russia (the world's second largest uranium exporter after Canada) has stated that they are going to limit their exports to conserve fuel for the 25 nuclear power plants they plan to build by 2020.

Fact: It normally takes several years for new uranium discoveries to be developed into producing mines. Due to the lead time required for new uranium mine development, a significant increase in the market price of uranium will not result in an immediate comparable increase in production. Thus the price of uranium is likely to move much higher in the years ahead and stay there longer - a benefit to uranium exploration and development companies.

Prediction: If the price of uranium increases significantly, as many experts predict, then it is a logical assumption that the stock prices of companies which produce and/or explore for uranium will likely increase substantially as well. And for an exploration company which makes a new economic uranium discovery, the stock price appreciation could be extraordinary.

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This page was created on Sun Sep 5, 2010 at 3:40:10 PM Pacific Time.